Bird Eggs in the Bottle Gourd Nest

I hated bottle gourds as a kid. It would be a challenge for my mom to have me take a single spoon from the Bottle Gourd Curry back then! Now I hate Bitter Gourd (Good luck with that mom :-P).

But there's good news for her. While growing up, I had to prepare my own food during my university days. And while endlessly experimenting with food made from scratch, my roommate ended up preparing this outstanding recipe with Bottle Gourds. When she introduced me to this dish, I could no way guess I'm having the worst nightmare of my life. Rather it felt like I was having some kind of chicken kebab.

Since then I've been preparing this recipe because I've fallen in love with it. It delivers excellent flavor, and texture, and is very filling. So I'll be replicating the same recipe that can leave you dumbstruck too! And, if you have Bottle Gourd Phobia as I did, then this recipe is for you. It is tender from the inside, saucy, cheesy, and feels exactly like chicken. Plus, the vermicelli coating gives it a nice crunch from the outside. When you bite into the egg, the cheese just oozes out. It is healthy, nutritious, and a great example of a balanced recipe. I bet you won't be able to guess it is meatless if you don't know the ingredients.

So here it is...

COOKING INGREDIENTS

FOR THE NEST

• Bottle Gourd - 1 medium or 500 g
• Boiled and Mashed Potatoes - 1 cup
• Grated Paneer or Indian Cottage Cheese - 3 tbsps.
• Pink Onion (finely chopped) - 1 medium
• Grated Ginger - 1 tsp.
• Grated Garlic - 1 tsp.
• Red Chilly Powder/Paprika - 1/2 tbsp.
• Turmeric Powder (optional) - 1 pinch
• All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
• Water - 2.5 cups
• Vermicelli - 1/2 cup
• Tomato Ketchup - 2 tbsps.
• Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp.
• Salt as per taste
• Vegetable oil to grease the tray

FOR THE EGGS

• Grated Paneer or Indian Cottage Cheese - 1/2 cup
• Cheddar Cheese Slices - 4 slices
• Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
• Salt as per taste

FOR THE GREEN SAUCE

• Yoghurt/Hung Curd - 85 gm
• Chopped Coriander Leaves - 1 fist
• Chopped Mint Leaves - 1 fist
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• Salt as per taste

OPTIONAL

• Flowers for decoration

UTENSILS AND EQUIPMENTS

• Mixing bowls
• Small bowls
• Spoon
• Whisker
• Cheese Grater
• Cheese Cloth/Muslin Cloth/Cotton Handkerchief
• Plates
• Knife
• Peeler
• Oven
• Baking Tray
• Parchment Paper
• Mixer/Grinder/Blender

Start with the Bottle Gourd, peel it, wash it, and remove it's stock. Similarly take the ginger-garlic, peel them, and wash them. Once done, grate all of these with a cheese grater.

Take 1 medium pink onion, remove the layers, wash it, and finely chop it.

Take 1/2 of the paneer (100 g) and grate it with a cheese grater.

Take 2 medium-sized potatoes, wash them and boil them with 2 cups of water in a vessel.

Once they get boiled, remove the outer skin, and grate them using a cheese grater.

Lay out a cheese cloth, or muslin, cloth or a cotton handkerchief on top of a plate or bowl.

Place the grated bottle gourd on top of the muslin cloth/handkerchief.

Fold and tie it (as shown in the picture).

Squeeze out the excess water from the bottle gourd by pressing on the cloth bundle. Squeeze until all the water is properly removed, and you are only left with bottle gourd fibers in the cloth.

Note: You can use the bottle gourd water as a vegetable stock, in curries, juices, and smoothies. So, you can store it in the fridge for later use instead of throwing it away.

In a large mixing bowl, take the grated Bottle Gourd, 3 tbsps. of grated Cottage Cheese, grated potatoes, 1 tbsp. each of grated ginger and garlic, 1 tsp of black pepper powder, 1 tsp of turmeric, and 1 tsp of paprika. Combine it all very well with a spoon till everything is mixed thoroughly.

Then add 4 tbsps. of all-purpose flour and mix thoroughly. The flour will act as a binder.

Then add the chopped onions to make the base of the bird's nest. Add salt in the end according to your taste, and finally shape the mixture in the form of a ball.

Use your fingers to make a circular depression in the center by pressing gently in the center. Let the outer edges be elevated. Refer to the image shown for more clarity.

Refrigerate this nest patty for 30 min in the refrigerator.

Take 5 tbsps. of all-purpose flour in a bowl and 50 ml of water to it. Whisk it well to make a consistent flour paste having no lumps. We will use this mixture to coat the vermicelli on the nest.

Remove the vermicelli on a plate and break it into smaller lengths as shown. Note: If you can't get your hands on vermicelli at the store, then I recommend using thin noodles or spaghetti in place of vermicelli.

Remove the Nest Patty from the refrigerator and pour and spread the flour paste all over it. Don't worry if it gets messy. 

Take the vermicelli in your hand and sprinkle it all over the nest patty so that it gets coated with vermicelli evenly. For the areas that you can't reach, just use your hands to spat it on the leftover part and press gently. The patties must be well coated with vermicelli from all sides.

Place these patties in the refrigerator while you go ahead with the rest of the recipe.

Take 1 slice of cheddar cheese. Cut it into four equal parts and roll them into 4 balls using your palm as shown.

In a mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup of grated cottage cheese, 1 tsp of black pepper powder, and salt as per taste. Mix it all very well.

Take the cheddar cheese balls and cover them with the cottage cheese mixture in your hand's palm. Roll them in only one palm to form the egg shape by closing and opening the palm till you get an oval shape.

Preheat an OTG Oven to 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. Adjust the temperature accordingly if you're using other types of oven.

Lay down a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray or simply grease the tray with vegetable oil.

Transfer the nest from the plate to the baking tray without destroying it's shape. Also, place the eggs on the tray.

Bake the nest to 180 degree Celsius for 30 min.

BUT, only toast the eggs for 1 minute and remove them from the oven. This is because, the eggs will lose their shape and look like a cookie, and the cheese may ooze out.

Let the nest cool after being baked properly.

In a grinder/blender/mixer, add in a fist of fresh coriander leaves, a fist of fresh mint leaves, 2 whole green chilies, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 3 tbsps. of hung curd/thick yoghurt, salt and pepper. Blend it to a fine paste.

Once the nest is cooled to room temperature, apply 2 tbsps. of tomato ketchup in the center, and 3 tbsps. of the green sauce that we prepared earlier as shown.

Take some fresh coriander leaves and place them on the edges of the nest as shown.

Place 3-4 eggs in the center of the nest on top of the green sauce as shown.

As a final step, you can decorate your nest with flowers and leaves.

Tada! The Eggs in the Bottle Gourd Nest is ready to be savored. I totally can't get enough of these. You can top it up with some chilly flakes and oregano and sit back and enjoy those robust and yummy flavors.

Get these on the dinner table!